October 2, 1995
"Welfare cuts of 21.6% will quickly deepen and increase child and family poverty in Ontario," President Charles Birchall told listeners at a weekend meeting of the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). "While the CCSD recognizes the need to address government debt and deficits, we believe that such fiscal measures can be achieved without undercutting investment in our most valuable asset - human capital. The people of Ontario must recognize that neglecting children today will lead to huge economic and social costs for all of us tomorrow."
Birchall noted that "the...
Read more …Press Release: National Social Policy group sends message to Premier of Ontario
November 17, 1995
Today, Statistics Canada released its annual report on family incomes. The report shows that in 1994 average family income was $54,153 an increase of about 2% over the previous year, or an average of $996 per family. Strong employment growth in 1994 contributed to this improvement in incomes and to a small decline in poverty rates.
"This is certainly good news, the best news we've had since 1989," said Clarence Lochhead, Assistant Director at the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). "But keep in mind that family incomes are still $2,600 below what they were in...
Read more …Press Release: Family Incomes Inch Up in 1994
December 13, 1995
The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) welcomed the federal government's child care initiative which was announced today. Human Resources Development Minister, Lloyd Axworthy, said the Liberal government would honour its Red Book commitment to child care. The federal government has set aside $720 million over the next three to five years to provide matching funds to the provinces to help support their child care systems, improve research and development in the child care field, and expand child care in Aboriginal communities.
"This is a potentially important...
Read more …Press Release: CCSD welcomes federal child care initiative
March 5, 1996
Ottawa -- The Canadian Council on Social Development today released the final report of three roundtable discussions on the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) held in late 1995.
About 150 voluntary and community workers, researchers, university teachers, municipal planners and policy analysts participated in the roundtable discussions. The final report includes proposals concerning principles and objectives which could guide the operation of the CHST. It also contains a summary of the discussions and findings, and the papers presented at the roundtables.
Held in...
Read more …Press Release: Council releases final report of experts' roundtables on the Canada Health and...
March 5, 1996
Ottawa -- The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is calling for federal transfers to the provinces for social assistance and services, health and post-secondary education to be restored to the 1995-1996 levels. This would help to halt the current erosion in service standards across Canada. That is a central recommendation in a position paper released today by the Council on the new Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). The CHST is the program which sets the levels of federal funding to the provinces for the delivery of health care, support to post-secondary...
Read more …Press Release: CCSD proposes measures to halt erosion of federal support for Canada's social...
June 12, 2000
OTTAWA - Today's release of 1998 family income data by Statistics Canada reflects the good news that Canada's economy is finally providing more jobs and better wages to Canadians after too many lean years, says the Canadian Council on Social Development. At $49,626, average after-tax family incomes were up in 1998 to a level slightly above the last peak in 1989. And the poverty rate for families and children dropped between 1997 and 1998.
"The average income improvements are due to the improved job market and, to a lesser extent, to reductions in income taxes for low and...
Read more …Press Release: Family incomes improved in 1998, but more for some than others
October 5, 2000
Ottawa - The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) is calling on the federal government to help Canadians grow closer together - not further apart - when designing its next budget. In its 20-page brief to the Standing Committee on Finance, the CCSD lists a series of recommendations that would focus on new social investment, balanced with debt reduction, and tax relief.
"With ballooning surpluses, it is the time to use investments in areas such as child care, housing and job training to reverse some of the more dismal trends that have occurred in recent years. These...
Read more …Press Release: Growing surplus means government can set new priorities for next budget
October 19, 2000
OTTAWA - The CCSD is disappointed that there were no major new social investments to help Canadians grow together by narrowing the growing gap between rich and poor in yesterday's Economic Statement.
The Economic Statement leans heavily towards further tax relief, as opposed to new investment in social programs. However, it should be noted that substantial surplus amounts remain to be allocated in this and future fiscal years. Notably, $6.2 billion of surplus remains to be allocated when the actual 2001-02 Budget is introduced.
"In the wake of major middle and upper...
continue reading ...Press Release: 'Mini-Budget' fails to address widening gap between rich and poor
December 11, 2001
Ottawa – The Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD) today expressed its disappointment with Finance Minister Paul Martin's 2001 Budget, a cautious, stay-the-course document which rules out any significant economic stimulus and makes only extremely modest new commitments in the area of social development.
"Most disappointing is that the Budget fails to articulate any longer term vision of our collective social future," said Marcel Lauzière, Executive Director of the CCSD.
The CCSD recognized that national security needs would have to be funded and that the federal...
Read more …Press Release: Budget short on long-term social vision - treats investments in children as past...
February 18, 2003
It is a historic day for Canada's children and families. The Government of Canada has at long last stepped up to the plate on the child care issue and recognized the absolute necessity of committing funds to child care. Its announcement of $935-million over five years for quality child care spaces and improved child care and pre-school services, is a good first step.
The federal government is showing leadership which will benefit parents and children alike. Seventy percent of women with pre-school-age children are working outside of the home in Canada, yet only 12% of...
Read more …Press Release: A Historic Day for Child Care
Too many Canadians with disabilities are failing to get the medication or medical attention they need according to Gail Fawcett, Senior Research Associate at the Canadian Council on Social Development (CCSD). This situation is particularly worrisome at a time when the demographic bulge of the baby boomers is heading into age groups which are at higher risk for disabilities.
Fawcett has found that nearly 15% of Canadians with disabilities report being unable to access the health care they need at some point during the year – more than three times the rate among persons without...
Read more …Press Release: Boomers Beware: People with Disabilities Falling Between the Cracks
On March 12th, the CCPA released the Alternative Federal Budget 2013: Doing Better Together. This year's AFB shows how growth-killing austerity can be replaced by a plan that strengthens the economy, leads to a better quality of life for all Canadians, and eliminates the deficit by 2016.
This year's Alternative Federal Budget:
reduces poverty and inequality by investing in child care, pharmacare, affordable housing, income supports, and post-secondary education,
tackles the ongoing crisis for First Nations housing, drinking water, education,
implements a long...
Read more …CCPA releases Alternative Federal Budget 2013
Join us March 21, 2013 at 12:00 noon EDT for the release of the report “Blended Financing for Impact: The Opportunity for Social Finance in Supportive Housing”
Driven by the work of the Turning the Key report commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC), a number of supportive housing providers in Canada struck a Social Finance Working Group in 2012 to explore social finance opportunities in the supportive housing sector. The objective of the project was to provide a clear pathway for supportive housing providers to learn about and engage in...
Read more …“Blended Financing for Impact: The Opportunity for Social Finance in Supportive Housing”
from CBC News
Canada isn't living up to its potential or its reputation when it comes to societal issues like poverty, government and inequality, according to the Conference Board of Canada.
The group gave Canada a 'B', good for a 7th place ranking out of 17 developed countries, but it said the "middle-of-the-pack" ranking leaves room for improvement.
Read more …Canada falling behind on poverty, inequality, says report
News and information from the Community Data Program
New data in the catalogue: Newcomers, business patterns, and going postal with consumer debt
The June 2012 order from our list of upcoming data products (Schedule B) is now officially available in the Community Data Program Catalogue. This includes datasets on consumer credit, immigrant landings, Canadian business patterns (December 2011 only—June 2012 is on its way!), and a file for mapping Postal Codes. If you do anything interesting with the data, make sure to let us know so that we can show off your work.
Read the complete...
Read more …Making It Count! Issue #4
In March 2012, the Government announced a reduction of more than 8 percent over 3 years to the budget of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). This $319 million cut is equivalent to the cost of one of the sixty-five F-35 fighter jets the Government wants to buy.We are calling on the federal government to reverse cuts to CIDA and restore funding in Budget 2013.
JOIN THE CAMPAIGN!
Read more …Reverse the cuts
HungerCount 2012 provides essential information on levels of food bank use in Canada, profiles communities hit by economic change
Ottawa, October 30, 2012 – The number of Canadians turning to food banks for help is at an all-time high, according to the HungerCount 2012 national study released today by Food Banks Canada.
After dipping slightly in 2011, food bank use in Canada increased by 2.4% this year, and is now a staggering 31% higher than before the 2008-2009 recession.
Continue ReadingFood Banks Canada reports record number of Canadians using food banks; 38% are children
October 26, 2012, David Bulter-Jones, MD, of Public Health Agency of Canada tabled in Parliament his Report on the State of Public Health in Canada, 2012: Influencing Health - The Importance of Sex.
In his fifth annual report, Mr. Bulter-Jones explores the influence of sex and gender on public health and the health status of Canadians. Differences in health experienced by men, women, boys and girls can be attributed to biological diversity as well as the social roles and responsibilities assumed by each of us.
Read more …Chief Public Health Officer Releases Report on the State of Public Health in Canada, 2012
From the Canadian Index of Wellbeing
How are Canadians really doing? Is our overall quality of life getting better or worse? Are we getting closer or moving farther away from realizing the kind of Canada we want to live in?
The second Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) composite report shows in the seventeen year period from 1994 to 2010, Canada's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by a robust 28.9% while our quality of life only improved by a very modest 5.7%. Further, it reveals Canadian wellbeing dropped by 24% between 2008 and 2010 and the decline in our wellbeing continues despite...
Read more …2012 CIW composite index reveals Canadian wellbeing is on the decline